Field
Holding devices, particularly for use with imaging devices, are disclosed. More particularly, embodiments relate to slide carriers, such as slide carriers for use with microscopes used for imaging microscope slides.
Background Information
The examination of biological specimens is sometimes required for diagnostic purposes. Generally speaking, pathologists and other diagnosticians utilize microscopes, such as digital microscopes, to study histological specimens from patients. Histological examination of specimens may include numerous steps, such as the collection and processing of biological samples onto microscope slides, sorting of prepared microscope slides according to tissue origin, e.g., according to a patient identifier, transportation of sorted microscope slides to a pathologist for viewing, and finally various stages of imaging and analysis prior to storing the samples for future reference.
The viewing of a biological sample on a microscope slide generally involves magnification of a region of interest of the sample. Traditionally, this is done by imaging the region of interest through a microscope, e.g., by capturing an image with a digital microscope and displaying the image on a display monitor. However, existing microscopes have capacity constraints that prevent the user from examining a large number of microscope slides simultaneously, i.e., during a single examination session, without reloading the microscope with new slides. Furthermore, existing microscopes that permit multiple microscope slides to be loaded simultaneously require the user to transfer slides individually from a transportation container to the microscope, resulting in extended loading times. Existing multi-slide microscopes also utilize widely-spaced slide positions, causing delays when switching views from a first slide to a second slide. Additionally, current methods of storing and archiving slides after examination often require repacking of the examined slides, which can be time consuming and may result in slide misplacement.